Tag Archives: United States

Fast food chains around the world have become adept at being able to mass-produce food that has a consistent appearance and taste. Fast food restaurants that have branches around the world offer their clients the exact same meal no matter where their branches are located on the planet. It is true that many fast food restaurants have local food items included on their menu, but these local items are in addition to and not a replacement for the general food that these chains produce.

Some of the reasons behind this consistency include the fact that fast food chains will mass-produce their food beforehand at a factory. They will use large industrial mixers, industrial ribbon blenders, and industrial ovens in this process. Once the food has been uniformly prepared, it is frozen and put inside enormous walk-in freezers. In many fast food chains, the cooks have the responsibility to reheat precooked food as opposed to cooking it from scratch.

Additionally, at the factory were the food is produced, both natural and artificial flavors are used in measured amounts to make sure that the food tastes exactly the same wherever it is served. The equipment that is used inside of a restaurant is designed to cook certain foods in a certain amount of time. As an example, some burger joints will use a conveyor belt to cook their hamburger patties over a broiler. The boiler is designed to cook both sides of the burger at the same time at a consistent temperature and at a predetermined amount of time.

In every single fast food chain, employees are directed on how to cook, dress, and package food. The warehousing and the distribution of the food is all handled in a centralized location. This all but removes any chance for variation in the taste and presentation of the food.

In addition to keeping the food uniform, having centralized warehouses where the food is prepared and then distributed keeps the price lower for customers. This is because restaurant chains are able to buy food in bulk, which is drastically cheaper than what a restaurant could buy food for on its own.

Mass-producing food in this way requires a lot of organization and careful management. The result is that a customer of a fast food chain can purchase a burger in the United States one day and then fly over to Tokyo and purchase the exact same burger that is made the same way and has the same taste.